Convertible

Other terms for convertibles include cabriolet, cabrio, drop top, drophead coupé, open two-seater, open top, rag top, soft top, spider, and spyder. Consistency is rare about the current use of cabriolet in preference to convertible.[4] The term cabriolet originated from a carriage cabriolet: "a light, two-wheeled, one-horse carriage with a folding top, capable of seating two persons"; however, the term is also used to describe other convertibles.[5]

In the United Kingdom, the historical term for a two-door convertible is drophead coupé, and a four-door convertible was called an all-weather tourer.[6]

1897 Daimler Grafton Phaeton

Most of the early automobiles were open-air vehicles without any roof or sides.[7][8][9][10] As car engines became more powerful by the end of the 19th century, folding textile or leather roofs (as had been used on victoria or landau carriages) began to appear on cars.[11][12] Examples of early cars with roofs include the phaeton (a two-seat car with a temporary roof), the brougham or a coupé de ville, having an enclosed passenger compartment at the rear, while the driver sat in front either in the open, or the landaulet, where the driver has a fixed roof and the passenger compartment has a folding roof. Less expensive cars, such as the runabouts, sporting roadsters, or sturdy touring cars, remained either completely open air or were fitted with a rudimentary folding top and detachable clear side curtains.

1928 Ford Model A Roadster

In the 1920s, when steel bodies began to be mass-produced, closed cars became available to the average buyer, and fully open cars began to disappear from the mainstream market.[13] By the mid 1930s, the remaining small number of convertibles sold were high-priced luxury models.[12] In 1939, Plymouth introduced the first mechanically operated convertible roof powered by two vacuum cylinders.[14][15]

Demand for convertibles increased as a result of American soldiers in France and the United Kingdom during World War 2 experiencing the small roadster cars that were not available in the United States at the time.[13] These roadsters included the MG Midget and Triumph Roadster. The convertible design was incorporated into the mass-market unibody by Hudson in 1948.[16][17] United States automakers manufactured a broad range of convertible models during the 1950s and 1960s – from economical compact-sized models such as the Rambler American[18] and the Studebaker Lark, to the more expensive models, such as the Packard Caribbean, Oldsmobile 98, and Imperial by Chrysler.[19] Automakers often included a convertible body style as an available body style in a model range.[20][21][22]

Convertibles in the U.S. market reached a sales peak in 1965 and fell in popularity over the next five years.[23] Optional air conditioning became more popular and the availability of sunroofs and T-tops limited the appeal of the open body style as well as the noise, leaks, and repairs associated with fabric tops.[23] The popularity of convertibles was reduced by the increased travel speeds on roads (resulting in more wind and noise for occupants) and proposed vehicle crash safety standards in the United States.[13][24]

The market share of convertibles fell to two or three percent of total sales and the U.S. automakers discontinued the body style from their lineups.[23] American Motors stopped making convertibles after the 1968 model year, Chrysler after 1971, Ford after 1973 and most divisions of General Motors after 1975. Cadillac held out until 1976, when they made about 14,000. The last 200 had a red, white and blue motif and a dashboard plaque. The very last was offered to the Smithsonian Institution, whose trustees turned it down as it was not at that moment an historic artifact, "Though it might well be in three generations ... or at the Tricentennial."[25] After the last Cadillac Eldorado convertible was made in 1976, the only factory convertibles sold in the United States were imported. Making convertibles on the assembly line was both expensive and time consuming, thus not worth the problems needed to sell the limited number of cars.[23]

1981 AMC Eagle Sundancer

1984 Chrysler LeBaron

Specialized coachbuilders were contracted to make dealer-available cars such as the Targa top versions of the AMC Concord and Eagle "Sundancer" as well as the Toyota Celica "Sunchaser" as specialty models.[26][27] American Sunroof Company (ASC), which was responsible for popularizing the sunroof option for regular body styles, converted a Buick Riviera into a full convertible that compelled General Motors to market it as part of the 1982 Buick models.[23] Chrysler Corporation also introduced convertible body style in its 1982 lines based on the K-Car. These were the LeBaron, and for Dodge, the 400.[28][29] Ford reintroduced a convertible Mustang for 1983 while American Motors Corporation (AMC) added a convertible version of the Renault Alliance in 1984.[30][31]

In 1989, Mazda released the first generation Mazda MX-5 (called "Miata" in North America), which has become the best-selling convertible with over 1 million cars sold.[32] Also in 1989, Toyota released the Toyota Soarer Aerocabin, which uses an electrically operated retractable hardtop roof.[33] A total of 500 were produced.[34]

Models dedicated to the convertible body style include the Mazda MX-5, Porsche Boxster, and Opel Cascada.[35]

Convertibles have offered numerous iterations that fall between the first mechanically simple fabric tops to complex retractable roofs made from hard materials:

Roadster: A roadster (also called spider or spyder) is an open two-seat car with emphasis on sporting appearance or character. Initially, an American term for a two-seat car with no weather protection, usage has spread internationally and has evolved to include two-seat convertibles.

Cabrio coach: A cabrio coach (also called semi-convertible) has a retractable textile roof, similar to a traditional convertible. The difference is that a convertible often has the B-pillar, C-pillar and other bodywork removed. However, the cabrio-coach retains all bodywork to the top of the door frames and just replaces the roof skin with a retractable fabric panel.

An advantage of a cabrio coach is that retaining more of the car's original structure means that structural rigidity is higher (or the vehicle weight is lower) than traditional cabriolets.[48] An example of the cabrio coach is the 2003-10 C3 Pluriel,[48] which has a roof with five possible configurations.[49][50]

Fiat 500 Cabrio with fabric roof folded to the rear

Fixed-profile: In contrast to convertibles where the entire bodywork above the beltline (doors, roof, side pillars, side bodywork) is replaced with a folding or retractable roof, the fixed profile convertible retains portions of fixed bodywork including the doors, side pillars, and side elements of the roof — while a center fabric portion slides back and accordions at the rear. As an example, Citroën's 1948 Citroën 2CV featured rigid bodysides and two doors on each side, along with a sunroof that rolled back on itself and extended to the rear bumper in place of a separate trunk lid. Other fixed-profile convertibles include the 1957 Autobianchi Bianchina Trasformabile, 1957 Vespa 400, 1950 Nash Rambler Landau Convertible Coupe, the Nissan Figaro (1991), the Jaguar XJ-SC (1983) as well as the 1957 Fiat 500 and its 2007 Fiat 500 successor. The 1984 Heuliez-designed Citroën Visa Décapotable used elements of a fixed-profile convertible.

Four-door: Most convertibles have two doors. However, four-door convertibles have been mass-produced. Examples include the 1940-41 Cadillac Series 62, 1931 Chrysler Imperial Dual Cowl Phaeton and 1961-67 Lincoln Continental.[51] Current production four-door convertibles include the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited.[52][53]

Peugeot presented a concept four-door retractable hardtop convertible, the Peugeot 407 Macarena in 2006.[54] Produced by French coachbuilding specialist Heuliez, the Macarena's top can be folded in 60 seconds,[54] with a steel reinforcing beam behind the front seats incorporating LCD screens for the rear passengers into the crossmember.[54]

Off-road: Several off-road vehicles have been produced with removable soft tops.[55] Examples include the Jeep Wrangler, Suzuki Vitara, Suzuki Jimny,[56] Ford Bronco, Land Rover Defender, Mercedes-Benz G-Class[57] as well as early models of the Toyota Land Cruiser and Land Rover Defender. Typically, the soft tops attach to the roll cage or to the installation points on the vehicle's body.

Landaulet: A landaulet (also known as landaulette) is where the rear passengers are covered by a convertible top.[58][59][60] Often the driver is separated from the rear passengers with a partition,[59] as per a limousine.

In the second half of the 20th century, landaulets were used by public figures (such as heads of state) in formal processions. They are now rarely used, for fear of terrorist attacks.

Victoria-Cabriolet: reminiscent of the victoria carriage style, a three-position convertible. No rear side windows and equipped with a soft top that can be raised partway, leaving the area above the front seats folded back.[61] This body style had a short period of popularity, mainly in the 1930s. Other names include Cabriolet/Coupé Milord (or just Milord), Calash (from Calèche), Folding Head DHC, three-position Drop-head Coupé, or Cabriolet toit de 3 positions.[62]